The L.A. Times music blog

The Week That Will Be (In Shows)

May 5, 2009 | 1:32
pm

Van Morrison: The Irish bard returns to L.A. after a well-received reprisal of his canonical "Astral Weeks" album at the Hollywood Bowl. With three nights of this stand at his disposal, expect a long journey through his deep catalog of inimitable writing. The Orpheum, 842 S. Broadway, L.A. Thursday to Saturday, 8 p.m. $90 to $350. (877) 677-4386.Abe Vigoda: On its intriguing new five-song EP, "Reviver," the young Chino quartet dissolves winsome vocal melodies in a no-wave guitar haze as it did on its 2008 breakthrough LP, "Skeleton." But this EP's slower tempos and darker timbres evoke a kind of sad, four-tracked Spector pop made in a foreclosed Inland Empire teenager's bedroom. The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 8:30 p.m. Friday. $12. (213) 413-8200.

Wango Tango 2009: If you have a song on pop radio right now, there's a pretty fair chance you'll be at this annual explosion of all things Auto-tuned, beat-driven and/or Dr. Luke composed. Black Eyed Peas headline with their aggressively catchy club thwackings, but stay for Kelly Clarkson and the fast-rising Lady GaGa. Verizon Wireless Ampitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. 6 p.m. Saturday. $40 to $170. (949) 855-8096

Iron and Wine: As well-worn as saddle leather and as hushed as a wooded autumn morning, Iron and Wine's Sam Beam set the delicate template that fellow Sub Pop band Fleet Foxes has dressed up with more Laurel Canyon-style harmonies. Beam's rare live performance, sure to captivate a crowd of shiny-eyed devotees, celebrates his upcoming double-CD release of rare tracks, "Around the Well." Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 9 p.m. Saturday. $25. (310) 276-6168.

Mika Miko: If No Age are the guitar-ripping princes of the downtown L.A. punk scene, then Mika Miko are the sneering anti-princesses, blasting art-school misfits with shred after shred of breakneck noise rock fit for the dirtiest beach shack party in San Pedro. The five femmes will air their new album, "We Be Xuxa," at this record release gig. The Smell, 247 S. Main St., L.A. 9 p.m. Saturday. (213) 625-4325.

Juliette Commagere: This local siren's voice ranges from dusky
to sharply silver, slicing through the intimate, sometimes alien
orchestration of her debut solo record, "Queens Die Proudly." With the
help of frequent spins on KCRW and her May residency that kicks off
this week, Commagere's release is slowly settling in with the critical
cognoscenti as one of L.A.'s most compelling efforts of the last year.
The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 8:30 p.m. Monday. Free.
(213) 413-8200.